Helical textile beater



Oct. 25, 1955 J. P. MORGAN HELICAL TEXTILE BEATER Filed Feb. 27, 1952 nEEEEEEEE E INVENTOR JAME MORGAN ATTO/ EY.

United States Patent O I-IQELICALVv TEXTILE BEATER Iames P. Morgan,Front Royal, Va., assignor to American Viscose Corporation,Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application February 27,1952, Serial No. 273,578

Claims. (Cl. 19-94) This invention relates to apparatus for processing arunning blanket of loose unconnected fibers, and particularlytoequipment for disintegrating the blankety following the applicationthereto of wet treatments, and reforming the loose fibers into a blanketto facilitate further treatments.

Nearly all types of textile fiber of the lengths. found in natural orartificially produced staple fibers are sub-` jected to wet treatmentsat some stage or other while being prepared for incorporation intofinished manufactured goods. In the preparation of rayon staple fiber,for example, a preferred procedure involvesv cutting a tow comprisingperhaps 100,000 or more filaments while in a wet condition into lengthswhich may vary in length from 1 to 7 inches, and forming the out-put ofthe cutter into a blanket of uniform depth over the surface of acontinuously moving conveyor having a foraminous surface. One type ofconveyor preferred by the staple manufacturer is a series of Walkingrail machines which are used to advance the blanket through a series ofspray stations for applying, for example, bleach solution, acidsolution, soap solution, and water in accordance with a desiredsequence. The fibers are matted together in passing through thesevarious liquid treatments and prior to entering a continuously conveyingdryer, the blanket must be opened or distintegrated and then distributedlaterally to such an extent as to cover the width of the conveyor of adryer at substantially uniform depth.

The fibrous material of the blanket is customarily dispersed ordistinegrated by a two-bladed beater into which the blanket isdischarged. The beater is a rotor having an axis extending transverselywith respect to the path being traversed by the blanket and comprises ashaft to which are attached diametrically-opposing ribbon-like bladeshaving a length preferably equal to or greater than the width of theblanket. A principal disadvantage of a beater of this type is that whenthe beater is operated at sufficient speed to satisfactorilydisintegrate the blanket, considerable breakage occurs thus reducing theaverage length of the fibers discharged by a staple conveyor. A furtherdisadvantage is the Wrapping of the beater that occurs when the blanketis constituted of fibers of certain lengths. These difficulties have notbeen overcome by the addition of more blades to the beater or bychanging the size and speed of the beater. Although the invention isreadily applicable to the handling of blankets formed from any textilefiber, the following description concerns apparatus particularly adaptedfor manufacturing viscose rayon staple fiber since the invention wasmade primarily through efforts to improve such apparatus.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a rotary apparatusor beater that opens blankets of fibers of textile length especiallyblankets comprising wet fibers. It is another object to construct suchapparatus in such a. manner as to confine the discharge of fibrousmaterial during operation into a receiving zone having a well denedwidth measured parallel to the axis of rotation of the beater. It isstill another object to construct a rotary blanket-distintegratingdevice that operates with freedom from the wrapping of fibrous materialabout blade and' tus for processing staple fiber, comprising a beater inaccordance with the invention;

Fig. 2, is a view in elevation of the helical bladed beater used in theapparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig'. 3 is a fragmentary view of a modified beater;

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an angular relationship between thepath of the blanket and circumference of the beater; and

Fig. 5. is a diagrammatic plan view of the apparatus illustrated in Eig.l.

In brief, the objects of the invention are accomplished by a rotor orbeater having its axis extending transversely with respect to the pathof a running blanket with the surface of revolution swept by itsperiphery intersecting suC-h Path and comprising one or more helicalblades, each blade having adjacent left-hand and right-hand sections. Ina preferred embodiment, the blades terminate in the side surfaces ofdrums mounted co-axiallywith the blade to prevent wrapping of the shaftportions of the rotor by fibrous material. The rotor is rotated in thedirection in which the helical sections apparently advance towardrespective end-portions of the rotor at which the sections terminate.

Fig. 1 illustrates a portion of an apparatus such as used in themanufacture of rayon staple'ber wherein a fibrous blanket 4 isdischarged from a conveyor 5 of the walking-beam type into the nip of apair of rolls 6 and 7 which squeeze liquid from theblanket receivedduringprior liquid-treatments. The rolls are urged together inaccordance to the pressure to which the blanket is to be subjected byresilient means such as the spring-loaded bearing 9 which engages atrunnion of the roll 6. The expressed liquid is collected in a receiver8 which may be drained in any suitable manner. The blanket is dischargedthrough a chute 10 into engagement with the blades of a rotor or beater11 shown in detail in Fig. 2. The axis of the beater 11 extendstransversely of the path of the blanket so that the surface of therevolution swept by the radially outer edgesr of the blades of thebeater preferably intersects the path. Preferably, the blades of therotor have similar lead and pitch, and axially coextensive sections ofthe blades having the same hand intersect the surface of revolution inparallel lines when the surface of revolution is projected into a plane.The beater of the Present invention will operate satisfactorily at allpracticable rotative speeds without the wrapping of fibrous materialabout portions of the beater. However, it is necessary that the speed ofoperation be such that the blades of the beater engage the blanket atsufiicient rate to produce satisfactory dispersion of the fibrousmaterial of the blanket. l

In the operation of actual production equipment, equipped with a beaterconstructed in accordance with the present invention, a blanket ofstaple fiber, having a thickness of 3 to 4 inches while carried on aWalking beam conveyor, is passed through squeeze rolls at approximately2 to 3 feet per minute. The action of the rolls reduces the thickness toabout 2 inches and the moisture content to about 60% based on the dryweight of the fiber. The blanket then passes into engagement with therevolving blades of the beater. Entirely satisfactory disintegration ofthe blanket is obtained by a two-bladed beater, such as illustrated bythe drawing, having an extreme blade diameter of 151/2 inches andoperated at a speed of approximately 300 revolutions per minute. The

speed however, is not critical and may be increased or decreased inaccordance with other operating conditions. The bers of the blanket arevery effectively separated by the beater and discharged as a streamwhich forms a pile of dispersed liber within the hopper 14, the floor ofwhich comprises an endles conveyor 15. The conveyor moves in thedirection indicated by the arrows to carry fibrous' material intocontact with an elevating conveyor 16 provided with teeth or cleats 17which in conjunction with a comb 18 form` a blanket of uniform depthwhich is carried upwardly to a region over-hanging a dryer conveyor 20and discharged thereupon. A dofling rotor 22 having a large plurality ofleather strips 23 is mounted adjacent the unloading region for theconveyor 16. The rotor 22 is rotated at a greater peripheral rate thanthe speed of the conveyor 16 whereby the leather strips are forcedbetween the teeth 17 of the conveyor to forcibly transfer the fibertherefrom onto the dryer conveyor 20. The comb 18 is supported swingablyon a pivotal axis which extends transversely and is uniformly spacedwith respect to the path of movement of the conveyor 16. As usuallymounted, such a comb is permitted to swing through an arc of about 30degrees. The resulting gap between the teeth of the comb and teeth 17 ofthe conveyor 16 produces a blanket having an approximately uniformthickness. The conveyors 15 and 16 have preferably a width equal to thewidth of the perforated area so that the blanket formed on the conveyors15 and 16 will be dried efliciently on the conveyor 20 which constitutesa portion of a conventional convection dryer, such as that manufacturedby the Proctor & Schwartz Company.

The beater 11, as shown in Fig. 2, comprises a shaft 24 and two helicalblades 25 and 26 attached thereto. Each blade comprises a right hand andleft hand section joined midway of the length of the blade. The termsright hand and left hand as used in the present description of thebeater are applied in the same manner as when used with respect to thehelical threads of screws to identify the angular direction in which theblade extends with respect to the beater axis. spaced coaxial radiallyextending surfaces provided by members circular in cross-section, suchas a pair of drums 28 and 29 located on the shaft 24 and at oppositeends of the blades. As shown, the diameters of the drums aresubstantially that of the surface of revolution swept by the outer edgesof the blades 25 and 26. The drums are provided primarily to preventstaple from being thrown by the blades in a direction endwise from thebeater. The end surfaces of the drums 28 and 29 are preferably closed toprevent suction air currents from developing in the vicinity of theshaft 24 particularly adjacent those surfaces of the drums facing awayfrom the blades so that ibrous material does not wrap about the shaft24. As optional equipment, a plurality of ns 30 may be attached to theouter peripheral surfaces of the drums to produce a mild air currentdirected toward the region surrounding the beater so as to oppose anytendency of the blades 25 and 26 to direct fibrous material beyond theends of blades. The tins 30 are helical or canted with respect to theaxis of the drum surfaces so that the ends of the fins that are furthestaway from the blade sections of the rotor are more advanced in thedirection of rotation of the beater than the ends of the fins nearer theblade sections. Thus, the fins 20 of either drum are opposite in handwith respect to the right or left handedness of the blade sectionsnearest that drum. As illustrated, the shaft 24 has portions of reduceddiameter near either end, such as the end portion 32, to receivebearings 33 associated with the hopper walls, and a pulley 34 by whichrotative power is transmitted to the beater.

The beater 11 illustrated in Fig. 2 is rotated preferably in thedirection indicated by the arrows. Rotation in this direction causes theintersections 36 and 37 of the right and left sections of the blades 25and 26 to be more advanced in the direction of rotation than the otherpor- The blades 25 and 26 terminate in tions of the respective blades.Although the blades 25 and 26 are constituted in the embodiment shown sothat the helical direction of the blades changes sharply at theintersections 36 and 37 of the right and left hand sections, therespective sections of each blade may be joined in a smoothly curvedportion rather than by the V shaped intersections illustrated. However,the smooth curved construction is more diicult to form.

A beater having helical blades of the type just described may beconstructed with ridges extending in a radial direction along theleading surfaces of the blades. Fig. 3 illustrates a modified beater 11ashowing the blades 25a and 26a having radially extending ridges 39similar to those provided on one beater having helical blades such ashereinabove described and successfully used in practicing the invention.

In Fig. 4, circle 38 indicates the circumference along which the edgesof the blades 25 and 26 are revolving. Also indicated is therelationship of the direction of movement of the blanket through chute10 or line C with respect to the circle 38. Preferably, the blanketapproaches the surface of revolution swept by the blade edges along aline of engagement from a direction having an angle with the plane oftangency along the line of engagement between the blanket and theblades. As illustrated by Fig. 3, the blanket passes along path C in thedirection of the arrow to intersect the circle of revolution of thebeater 11. The path C intersects a portion of the circle to produce someangle, such as angle D, with a plane of tangency represented by the lineAB passing through the intersection of the path with surface ofrevolution.

The edges of the blades in acting on the under surface of the blanket,impart force that is to some extent lateral with respect to the generaldirection of the blanket advancement because of the inclination of theblades therewith. Consequently, the loose fibrous material produced fromthe disintegration of the blanket is distributed laterally to someextent with respect to lengthwise movement of the blanket. Consequently,the hopper 14 may have a width somewhat greater than the length of theblades. The formation of a blanket of uniform thickness is promoted bythe action of the comb 18 which meters and levels the brous materialsupplied to the conveyor 16 from the hopper. The side-wise distributionof the loose fibers discharged by the heater is highly advantageous insystems wherein, to facilitate drying or other treatment of the fiber,it is necessary or desirable to reform the fibrous material into ablanket of much greater width and thickness than that of the blanketdischarged from less advanced portions of the apparatus such as the wettreatment conveyor 5. In previous installations where the width of theblanket was substantially increased, the fiber entered the dryer as ablanket which was ordinarily thinner and less dense in the marginalportions thereof because of the tendency to form a sloping centrallypeaked mass of loose material in the hopper 14.

The beater in accordance with the present invention has the advantage ofbeing operable within a greater range of speeds than beaters heretoforeprovided for disintegrating wet blankets of fibrous material. Moreover,such a beater may be operated at sufficient speed to disintegrate theblanket Without the breakage of fibers which normally accompanies theoperating of conventional beaters. When the beater is constructed withdrums at the end of the helical blades as hereinbefore described andoperated in conjunction with suitable ancillary equipment, the dischargeof brous material into a receiving zone may be accurately controlled insuch a manner as to promote the formation of a blanket of uniformthickness and density for further treatments of the fibrous material.

While a single embodiment of the invention has been shown and described,it is to be understood that changes and variations may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A rotor for disintegrating a running blanket of textile fiberscomprising helical blades which extend in a direction away from an axisof rotation to a common surface of revolution and lengthwise of theaxis, each of said blades comprising right and left-hand helicalportions, the intersections of axially coextensive portions of saidblades with the surface of revolution being parallel when said surfaceis projected in a plane, said blades extending along a common section ofthe axis, and a pair of axially spaced drums mounted coaxially at eachend of said section of the axis, said drums having closed side surfacesand a closed circular surface connecting the side surfaces, the bladesextending substantially from one drum to the other and being connectedtherewith for rotation together.

2. A rotor as defined in claim 1 having helically disposed ns mounted onthe circular surfaces of the drums, the fins of each drum being oppositein hand to the hand of blade portions attached to the same drum.

3. Apparatus for disintegrating a running blanket comprising a rotorhaving blades which extend in a direction away from the axis of rotationto a common surface of revolution and lengthwise of the axis, each bladecomprising right and left-hand helical sections, the intersections ofaxially-coextensive sections of the blades with the surface ofrevolution being parallel when said surface is projected into a plane,and a pair of axially-spaced drum-shaped members disposed at, andconnected with, opposite ends of the blades; means for feeding theblanket along a path intersecting the surface of revolution, the widthof the path extending substantially lengthwise of the surface ofrevolution, means for rotatably supporting the rotor with the axis ofrotation fixed with respect to the path; and means for rotating therotor in a direction with respect to which the junction of the right andleft-hand sections of each blade is the most advanced portion of theblade.

4. Apparatus for disintegrating a running blanket comprising a rotorhaving blades which extend in a direction away from an axis of rotationto a common surface of revolution and lengthwise along the axis, eachblade comprising right and left-hand helical sections, the intersectionsof axially-coextensive sections of the blades with the surface ofrevolution being parallel when said surface is projected into a plane,each blade having laterallyextending axially-spaced ridges on thesurfaces of the blades which face forward with respect to the directionof rotation; means for feeding the blanket along a path intersecting thesurface of revolution, the width of the path extending substantiallylengthwise on the surface of revolution; means for rotatably supportingthe rotor with the axis in rotation fixed with respect to the path; andmeans for rotating the rotor in a direction with respect to which thejunction of the right and left-hand sections of each blade is the mostadvanced portion of the blade.

5. Apparatus for disintegrating a running blanket of fibers comprising arotor having blades which extend in a direction away from the axis ofthe rotor to a common surface of revolution and also lengthwise of theaxis, each blade comprising right and left-hand sections, theintersections of axially-coextensive sections of the blades with thesurface of revolution being parallel when said surface is projected intoa plane, and a pair of axially-spaced members circular in cross sectionhaving radially-extending surfaces between which the blades extend fromsurface to surface, the diameters of the radiallyextending surfacesbeing substantially as large as that surface of revolution, means forfeeding the blanket along a path intersecting the surface of revolution,the width of the path being approximately coextensive with the length ofthe blades, means for rotatably supporting the rotor with the axis ofrotation fixed with respect to the path, and means for rotating therotor in a direction with respect to which the junction of the right andleft-hand sections of each blade is the most advanced portion of theblade.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 26,081Bidwell Nov. l5, 1859 682,193 Heggem Sept .10, 1901 860,757 Maxwell July23, 1907 1,497,706 Youlten June 17, 1924 1,840,505 Gray Jan. 12, 19322,268,429 Shank Dec. 30, 1941 2,312,838 Johnston Mar. 2, 1943 2,341,623Kern Feb. 15, 1944

5. APPARATUS FOR DISINTEGRATING A RUNNING BLANKET OF FIBERS COMPRISING AROTOR HAVING BLADES WHICH EXTEND IN A DIRECTION AWAY FROM THE AXIS OFTHE ROTOR TO A COMMON SURFACE OF REVOLUTION AND ALSO LENGTHWISE OF THEAXIS, EACH BLADE COMPRISING RIGHT AND LEFT-HAND SECTIONS, THEINTERSECTION OF AXIALLY-COEXTENSIVE SECTIONS OF THE BLADES WITH THESURFACE OF REVOLUTION BEING PARALLEL WHEN SAID SURFACE IS PROJECTED INTOA PLANE, AND A PAIR OF AXIALLY-SPACED MEMBERS CIRCULAR IN CROSS SECTIONHAVING RADIALLY-EXTENDING SURFACES BETWEEN WHICH THE BLADES EXTEND FROMSURFACE TO SURFACE, THE DIAMETERS OF THE RADIALLYEXTENDING SURFACESBEING SUBSTANTIALLY AS LARGE AS THAT SURFACE OF REVOLUTION, MEANS FORFEEDING THE BLANKET ALONG A PATH INTERSECTING THE SURFACE OF REVOLUTION,THE WIDTH OF THE PATH BEING APROXIMATELY COEXTENSIVE WITH THE LENGTH OFTHE BLADES, MEANS FOR ROTATABLY SUPPORTING THE ROTOR WITH THE AXIS OFROTATION FIXED WITH RESPECT TO THE PATH AND MEANS FOR ROTATING THE ROTORIN A DIRECTION WITH RESPECT TO WHICH THE INJECTION OF THE RIGHT ANDLEFT-HAND SECTIONS EACH BLADE IN THE MOST ADVANCED PORTION OF THE BLADE.